SF3D (part 2)

by bookindian

Fireball S.F.3.D. – Space Type

S.F.3.D. Original Fireball kit box

Bought this kit when I was living in the Los Angeles area 20-plus years ago.

Work space

Spent some time searching the internet for photographs of the SF3D kit models by Kow Yokoyama, but have only found the Ma. K. kit builds, no S.F.3.D. Originals. Most of the sites I looked at are pretty much just copies of some text on Wikipedia, nothing new. There are some very impressive paint treatments on Ma. K. models.

A minimalist instruction sheet

Connecting the arms

Close-up of the shoulder joint

Plastic clip to secure arm

Clip in place . . .

At first I thought attaching the arm was going to be a simple process, but because the clip was so small, I tried using tweezers to get the clip secured, and finally hadd to bring in an old reliable friend.

Right and left arms secured

My Fireball S.A.F.S. Space Type is very near completion and I plan to do some painting and other finish work today; saw a subdued red paint scheme on a Ma. K. Fireball online that had oil stains (leaks) on the lower legs and sides of the feet (looked very good) and gave the impression that the suit had been used. I’ve seen hydraulic and engine oil leaks on heavy construction equipment and the paint treatment was very realistic.

Building this “relic” has been a study in patience; I didn’t realize that a 1/20 scale kit model was so small.

Looking inside the torso

Something I did that was really WRONG, was to pre-paint the parts, don’t know what made me do it . . . maybe I thought it would save some time . . . some joke, yeh?

Another view

There are holes that still need to be bored out a bit before the wires and “hoses” can be installed, and some seams need to be filled.

Thrusters, tank and some other stuff

Oh yeh, one major flaw in the build – the upper section of the left arm is on backwards . . . not paying attention to the illustrations on the instruction sheet – shouldn’t be a problem unless Kow sees it.

I would never have discovered the error if I hadn’t been looking at the parts still on the sprus – I noticed a circular piece and started checking the numbers on the instruction sheet and cross-referencing the parts on the build. Ooops, the circular piece should have been around the upper end of the right forearm !! Then I realized that I had also messed-up on the left arm . . . as well.

Brand plate on one of the sprus

I will cut the orphaned circular part and install it, shouldn’t be noticeable.

It looks like I have another 4 – 8 hours before the Fireball is completed, but it will have been worth the trip.

Finish work on the Fang of the Sun mecha will be next. Roundfacer, Mackerel and the three Bushman figures have all undergone seam line clean-up and most of the missing parts have been retrieved from various storage boxes.